After Shinji Kagawa, Borussia Dortmund might have another serious Japanese talent on their books. The pre-season win over Rot-Weiss Oberhausen saw Takato Yamamoto announce himself to the BVB faithful with an explosive debut, yielding a goal and an assist.
A midfielder by trade, the 18-year-old was signed on loan from J1 League side Gamba Osaka with the option of buying him on a permanent basis for a meager €1.5 million. Although one friendly match isn't enough to gauge a player's true potential, he's certainly made an impression already.
Becoming Yamamoto
Born on 24 August 2007, Takato Yamamoto hails from the Japanese city of Osaka and began his professional career there only last year as the teenager joined local side Gamba Osaka. He made his senior debut in February this year after replacing Shuto Abe in a match against V-Varen Nagasaki wherein Yamamoto later scored in their penalty shootout win too.
He made four more league appearances for the Black and Blue before breaking into the AFC Champions League against Bangkok United, where the Japanese starlet came off the bench in their 3-0 win. Gamba Osaka later went on to win the title by beating Cristiano Ronaldo-led Al Nassr in the finals but Yamamoto was an unused substitute.
Moving to Dortmund
In July 2026, Takato Yamamoto joined Borussia Dortmund on loan and was integrated into their reserve side. He became only the third Japanese player in the club's history after Mitsuru Maruoka and Shinji Kagawa.
Last Saturday, he was called-up by Niko Kovac for their first pre-season friendly of the summer against RW Oberhausen as Yamamoto came off the bench in the 46th minute to replace Justin Lerma and made a telling impact.
A debut to remember
Just nine minutes after being subbed in, Yamamoto set up Serhou Guirassy with a simple pass after tracking his run on the right and then scoring Borussia Dortmund's third of the evening with a confident strike from inside the box, racing in behind the Oberhausen defense following a neat-one two with Enzo Duarte.
Blessed with electric pace and exemplary ball control, the 18-year-old showed impeccable vision and distribution skills while also drifting into pockets of space to create chances. Yamamoto's game-reading ability belied his age as the young gun could be set for more appearances during BVB's pre-season campaign that involves a trip to his country Japan next week.
Borussia Dortmund play their second friendly of the summer against Fortuna Dusseldorf on Saturday 25 July.
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